Some utility vehicles, such as the 110 TLB offered by Deere & Company of Moline, Ill., include a creep-to-reposition function allowing an operator on a rearward-facing seat to engage and modulate ground speed while operating a rear-mounted implement such as a backhoe. U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,495 relates to a creep speed control for a utility vehicle that is operable from a rearward-facing seat. The creep speed control includes a mechanical or electronic control arrangement that a rearward-facing operator can use to move the utility vehicle at a controlled ground speed with the transmission in forward or reverse. For example, a rearward-facing operator may operate a creep speed control using a rocker switch to select either forward or reverse, and a thumb lever to control creep ground speed. The rearward-facing operator can use the creep speed control to move the utility vehicle along a trench without leaving the seat or using the backhoe to reposition the vehicle.
While an operator uses the backhoe or another rear-mounted implement from the rearward-facing position on a utility vehicle, he or she also may want to steer the vehicle. Some utility vehicle operators attempts to steer the vehicle while using the creep-to-reposition function. To do this, the operator must reach behind the rearward-facing seat to turn the vehicle's steering wheel, while simultaneously operating the creep speed control. Reaching behind the seat to steer can require uncomfortable movements by the operator, and also can be imprecise and unsafe.
A creep steering control system for a utility vehicle is needed that is operable from a rearward-facing position while using the creep-to-reposition feature. A creep steering control system for a utility vehicle is needed that an operator can use comfortably, precisely, and safely from a rearward-facing position while operating a rear-mounted implement such as a backhoe.